Several members of the Kennedy family have joined the legal battle to stop President Trump from building a great triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
In court filings Tuesday, nine members of the famous family — including several children and grandchildren of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy — argued the 250 foot high arch would block visibility of the Kennedy family graves and the “Eternal Flame” commemorating President John F. Kennedy. All three brothers — Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy and John F. Kennedy — are buried in Arlington.
Family members wrote that the project would “cast a permanent shadow on the graves of service members who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country, including Kennedy’s graves.”
Family members seek to intervene as plaintiffs in a lawsuit opposing the arc of the City of Washington, DC and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Several Vietnam War veterans are also suing the Trump administration over the ark.
“Americans from all corners of the country are visiting Arlington to honor those who have served and sacrificed for our nation,” Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy said in a statement regarding the trial. “A towering arch casting shadows over the graves of our father, mother and uncles, as well as the graves of so many who served our country, would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles, undermining the safeguards established by our elected representatives to protect this sacred place for generations to come.”
The Justice Department had no comment on the filing when contacted by CBS News.
The proposed arch – planned for a roundabout across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC – is part of a series of construction projects in and around the nation’s capital that Mr Trump has personally pushed. His administration says the arch would commemorate 250 years of American independence. He sought to start as early as this month.
But the project has drawn stiff resistance from local officials, congressional Democrats, some veterans and others interested in Arlington National Cemetery. Opponents argue that the Trump administration did not follow proper legal procedures to build the arch and warn that it would block sightlines between the cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
The National Capital Planning Commission, which includes many Trump allies, voted to approve plans for the arch last week. But U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan quickly blocked the government to start any “construction-related activity” for 14 days, find the plan is probably illegal. The plaintiffs asked the court for a longer-term injunction.
The government argued that the proposed arch did not violate the law and that the plaintiffs lacked standing to file a lawsuit over the project.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement last week: “We are confident that we will be fully vindicated as this litigation unfolds and we look forward to seeing the completion of this magnificent Arch – a tribute to 250 years of American greatness.”
This is not the first time that members of the Kennedy family have criticized Mr. Trump’s architectural overhaul of the Washington region. Several family members have also spoken out against Mr. Trump’s attempts to add his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including the niece and great-nephew of the center’s namesake, Kerry Kennedy and Joe Kennedy III, who are both seeking to join the triumphal arch lawsuit as plaintiffs.
Kerry Kennedy’s brother, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told CBS News Earlier this year, he was not involved in the proposed name change for the performing arts center and did not recommend opposing it.
“Of course I understand it, but I have bigger fish to deal with,” he said when asked about the reluctance of some of those close to him.
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